


Boy Troubles

by doodles357



Category: Andi Mack (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Comfort, Coming Out, Crushes, Friendship, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-12
Updated: 2019-07-12
Packaged: 2020-06-26 18:48:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19774222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doodles357/pseuds/doodles357
Summary: While waiting at the Mack household to hang out with Andi, Cyrus ends up having a heart-to-heart with Bex.





	Boy Troubles

Bex was in the middle of cleaning the living room (or running the dust rag over random objects) when there was a knock on the door. Grateful for an excuse to take a break from cleaning, she went over to see who it was. Opening the door, she was greeted by Cyrus Goodman.

“Hey, it’s one of the jailbirds,” she said jokingly, earning a chuckle from Bowie who was working on lunch in the kitchen. Cyrus just gave a wry smile in return.

“Andi’s not here right now,” she told him, assuming that’s why he was there.

“I know,” he said. “She texted me and said she was on her way here. However, she was at the craft store when she told me that, so I’m not too surprised that I beat her here.”

Bex sighed in exasperation and let him in. “I don’t know how she keeps finding supplies to buy. She literally has an entire shed full of art supplies. But she apparently always needs ‘one more thing.’”

Cyrus gave a small chuckle at the joke, but he didn’t give much of a reaction beyond that. Bex frowned in concern. Her daughter’s usually upbeat friend seemed somewhat…forlorn? It was a word she normally wouldn’t have used to describe Cyrus, but he wasn’t talking a mile a minute or making goofy jokes like he normally did.

Gesturing at the couch, she settled down into it herself. “So, what’s new with you?” she asked. “I feel like I haven’t seen you guys around as much lately.”

Cyrus just shrugged, sitting down next to her. “Just busy with school and stuff,” he said.

“And breaking the law?” Bex grinned, nudging him with her elbow. He smiled again at the joke, but his heart didn’t seem into it.

“Are you sure everything’s fine?” she asked. He looked up at her in confusion.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“You just seem…off,” she said. “Like something’s bothering you.”

He shrugged again, not making eye contact, which confirmed her suspicions. Not wanting to just drop it, she decided to gently press on.

“Is it friend troubles?” He shook his head. “Family? School?” Two more shakes. “Girl troubles?”

He hesitated, and Bex gave a mental fist pump. She had figured it out. Not that it gave her a lot to go on. Cyrus had never talked much about relationship stuff – at least not anything involving him. Most of the drama she heard about centered around Andi, of course, but she heard at least a little about Buffy. But she couldn’t remember Cyrus ever talking about anyone that he liked.

“Not…exactly,” he finally said. He still wasn’t looking at her, and he almost seemed nervous.

“What is it then?” she asked gently. She could tell Bowie was listening from the kitchen, but he wasn’t chiming in yet.

“It’s more like…boy troubles,” Cyrus finally said quietly. It took Bex a second to register what he meant, and her heart clenched a little at how nervous he still looked at having said it. She reached over and squeezed his hand.

“Well, I have a lot of experience in that particular area, so if you want some advice, I’m sure I’ll have quite a bit to give out.”

Cyrus glanced up at her, and she could see the relief in his eyes. She wanted to lean over and give him a hug, but she also didn’t want to overwhelm him.

“Are you sure that’s a good thing?” he asked her.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“Well, if you’ve had a lot of boy troubles, doesn’t that mean that you haven’t had a lot of luck with guys?” he asked. Bowie burst out laughing in the kitchen.

“Hey!” she cried out, pointing a finger at him. “You shut up! You’re part of my boy troubles.”

Bowie gasped in mock outrage and Cyrus chuckled quietly on the couch beside her. Turning her attention back to him, she was glad to see that he was looking a little more cheerful.

“I may not be perfect when it comes to relationships, but I’m a good listener,” she told him. “Why don’t you just give me an idea of what’s going on?”

So, he began to explain. She could tell he was skimming over some details, but she got the general gist of what had happened. There was a boy he liked a lot, and he had gotten his hopes up about how that boy felt about him. Then the boy had seemingly ditched Cyrus for a new girl that he was spending all his time with. As he explained it, Bex could feel her heart aching for him. She knew the sting of unrequited feelings pretty well, and she also knew that it had a harsher sting earlier on, especially during middle school. And from what Cyrus was saying, it was for someone who seemingly could never return his feelings.

“So, you say this girl is taking up all his time?” Bex pondered, taking in everything he had told her. “Well, if she’s as terrible as you say, then he’ll figure it out soon enough and he’ll stop hanging out with her. Boys can be pretty dumb about stuff like that,” she said wisely.

“It’s not just her though,” Cyrus said. “He just ditched me without warning, and he’s acting like it was no big deal. Now things are awkward and weird between us. It’s like, overnight, our friendship just got completely messed up, and I have no idea why.” He sounded heartbroken and Bex wished there was something she could say to make him feel better. “Even disregarding my feelings for him, he isn’t being a very good friend right now, and I don’t get it.”

“People can be dumb when they get into relationships,” Bex told him. “I’ve known plenty of people who will throw their entire selves into a new relationship and basically ignore their friends as a result. It’s annoying, but it’s not unheard of.”

“He said they’re not a couple,” Cyrus said. “But it seems like they are. And she clearly doesn’t like me. Even if I didn’t like him, I wouldn’t want to hang out with her, if all she’s going to do is insult me the entire time.”

Bex frowned. “I totally get what you’re saying. I don’t blame you for that either.” She sighed. “I wish I could give you a better answer, but since I don’t know this kid, it’s hard for me to guess at what’s going through his head. Have you talked to any of your friends about this? Maybe if they know him well, they might have a better idea?” He hadn’t said anything about whether he had come out to anyone else, but she was willing to bet that the girls at least knew.

“I talked to Buffy a bit,” Cyrus said. “She said a lot of the same stuff you did.”

“She’s smart,” Bex said, earning another small smile out of him. It also made her feel glad that he had been talking to at least one of his friends. She knew how invaluable friends could be in situations like this.

“Well, while I don’t know what exactly is going through this kid’s head, I think that he’ll eventually realize that this girl isn’t great, and things will hopefully go back to normal between you two,” Bex said. She felt bad that she wasn’t able to give any better advice, but having only the bare bones of the situation, it was hard to think of anything that would make him feel better.

Cyrus just sighed though. “But it doesn’t solve my big problem. Even if he’s not with her, it doesn’t mean he’ll want to be with me. There might be another girl after that, and I’m back to square one.”

“Cyrus,” Bex said seriously, squeezing his hand and waiting until he was looking her in the eyes. “I know this sucks for you. I get it, I really do. And I know that just saying that won’t make it feel better. But you are a wonderful person, and I _promise_ you that one day, there will be someone who recognizes that. They’re going to like you for who you are, and they’ll see you for the caring, amazing person that you are. Actually, you know what?” Bex interrupted herself. “I bet there’ll be _lots_ of someones. And one day, you’ll look back on this, and wonder why you even worried about it.”

Cyrus was starting to look like he was welling up, so Bex scooted closer and pulled him in for a hug. She hadn’t meant to make him cry, but she just wanted to make him feel better. She knew how it felt to pine over someone, but she also knew that her experiences couldn’t compare to what Cyrus was going through. But she meant every word that she had said, and she just hoped that he would begin to believe her.

He pulled away, wiping at his eyes. “Thanks, Bex,” he said, clearly trying to compose himself.

“Of course,” she said, gently rubbing his shoulder. “I’m sorry I couldn’t help you any more with your problems, but if you ever need someone to talk to, I’m always here, okay?”

He nodded, and suddenly the front door burst open as Andi came into the apartment, laden down with several bags.

“I got so many new pens today, I’m so happy!” she exclaimed to the room in general. “And they had a sale on ribbons, so I have a ton of bracelet ideas. Every is getting a bracelet for Christmas this year. And their birthdays. And probably Easter too,” she mused to no one in general.

Spotting her friend on the couch, she said, “Sorry about making you wait Cyrus, but I just couldn’t pass this up!”

“It’s okay,” he replied, and Bex could see that he had pretty much composed himself. It was actually a little surprising at how well he had covered up the fact that he had been upset, but before she could do anything else, he had swung himself off the couch and followed her chattering daughter into her bedroom.

Bex let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding and sank back into the couch. Bowie came over and sat down next to her, rubbing circles on her back.

“Do you think what I said was okay?” she asked him.

“Yeah, of course,” he told her reassuringly. “You did the best that you could.”

“I just wish there was something more I could do to help him,” she said.

“I don’t know if you can,” he said. “Given the situation, there wasn’t much you could do. But being there for him, telling him that he’d be okay – that’s what he really needed from you.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” she sighed, leaning over to rest her head on his shoulder. “I just feel so bad for him.”

“I know,” he said, resting his head down on top of hers.

\---------

Later that night, Bex poked her head into Andi’s room and knocked gently on the doorframe. Her daughter was lying on her bed, trying out all her new pens in a notebook. Andi looked up at the knock though and asked,

“What’s up?”

“Not much. Just checking in,” Bex said. She wanted to ask Andi about Cyrus, but she wasn’t sure how to go about it.

“Cyrus said you gave him some advice today.”

Oh. Or Andi could just bring it up.

“Well, I tried,” Bex said. “I don’t know how great it was.”

“He seemed to appreciate it,” Andi told her.

“Has…he talked to you about what’s going on?” Bex asked tentatively.

“A little,” Andi said, furrowing her brow. She sat up in bed, and Bex walked over to sit next to her. “I know that Buffy knows more about the situation, mostly because she knows the other people involved a lot better than I do. But he’s been weirdly quiet about it. Normally, he’d want to talk it out, but it hasn’t been like that this time.”

“He does seem pretty upset,” Bex conferred. “I’m a little worried about him.”

Andi sighed at that. “I know what you mean. Cyrus has a tendency to push his problems away and focus on everyone else instead of himself. I know it’s been pretty painful for him though, which is why I haven’t pushed the issue.”

“Yeah, I get that,” Bex agreed. She didn’t want to push responsibility onto her daughter, but at the same time, Andi was better suited than her to monitor the situation. “Just…keep an eye on him, okay?”

“I will,” Andi promised. “We always do.”

“And you know, if there’s anything you ever need to talk about with me, you know you can, right?” Bex said. Her conversation with Cyrus had made her realize that she had never talked to Andi about anything like that. Granted, she had missed a lot of important growing up conversations, and she wasn’t sure that Cece had covered everything.

“What do you mean?” Andi asked.

“You know, anything,” Bex said. She hadn’t really thought about it before; a lot had changed in the world since her teenage years, and her travels had allowed her to meet a wide variety of people. Shadyside was definitely still pretty small-town, but it was getting a lot more diverse every day.

Growing up, she had never considered something like having to come out to her parents, but after making friends with people from lots of different backgrounds, she had learned about some of the struggles that her friends had gone through with their own families. Now that she had her own family, she wanted to set a new standard.

Andi’s face softened as she realized what her mom meant. “Okay, Mom.”

“And your friends too,” Bex said. “If they ever need someone to talk to, I’m here. And so’s your dad.”

“I’ll be sure to let you know.”

Bex leaned over and gave Andi a hug. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Mom.”


End file.
